Butterfly Girl

Today is one of those days.  You know those days when for no clear reason it feels as if the entire weight of the world seems to rest on your shoulders.  It feels as if you can hardly put one foot in front of the other, as if they are tied down with a great big ball and chain.  That is when I have this secret wish that I could phone Superheroes Anonymous.  Superhero to the rescue!!!   Ta - da!!!
I imagine my superhero to be an adorable little girl butterfly with such a cheery disposition as to put the brightest shiny sun to shame, and with a little flick of her pollen dusted fingers all the wrongs in the world are put right again.  All my worry wrinkles would be smoothed away and the fragrance of joy will linger in every drab corner of my life.  My little superhero would clear up all misunderstandings, touch everyone's heart with happiness and sprinkle bags of glittering good intentions all over everything.  The world would simply be perfect!
Alas!  Superhero's are only alive and well in Hollywood.  No amount of wishing could conjure them up.  So back to reality and this day awaiting.  Of course I always have the choice to climb back into bed again and pull the duvet over my head.  I could hope to wake up tomorrow and maybe feel better.  Or... I could get up and bravely face this day.  The truth of the matter is that we do not really have a choice.  Getting back into bed mostly just postpones the inevitable and to top it all it is a total waste of time.  Time which none of us have to waste.  The only choice we really have is how we are going to spend the time and this takes me to my early morning aha moment!
As I was contemplating to stay in bed till a better feeling came around ( or Superheroes Anonymous gets a telephone) I realized one thing: I have to be my own superhero!  I have to be my own knight in shining amour.  Only I can get up and face this beautiful, perfect, unexplored and un-lived day.  It is my actions and words that will write the most important things on the new page awaiting in the early morning dawn.  I can fill the page with frowns and groans, with angry words and negativity, or I can fill it with words of beauty, smiles and love.  It is my choice that will release the magic dust.
Yes, I know.  I can already hear some of you say that I do not know what your life is like, that I do not understand what obstacles you are facing or what circumstances you are living in.  That is absolutely true, I have no idea.  However, what I do know is that no matter what you are facing or going through at this very moment, you do have a choice of how you wish to react to it. And it is in that choice where the magic lies. Every situation, every event comes with a choice of how we will react to it, and it is most often the choice which we end up making that truly determines the direction our lives will take and not really the event itself.
Of course, simply saying it does not make it as easy as it sounds.  It does not suddenly turn life into a magic carpet ride, but it does beat simply letting life run over you and giving up.
So, this all said, it is time to don my yellow, superhero boots and my butterfly wings.  Watch out world, here I come!

If you flutter by here, please share your thoughts on what super powers you would love to have!

...becoming a butterfly

I am not, I repeat, NOT an athlete.  Although I love walking, and can even walk at quite a pace, I am not athletic at all.  We are not an athletic family.  We love art.  We are regulars on the culture scene.  My idea of running is that the engine is here to stay!  Yet I have a dream, one that I have kept quite well hidden, well that is until now.  Deep down, in the very darkest recesses of my heart there is this desire to run at least a 5 k. There I have said it, now I want to hide!  

So, that is how I find myself at this point in my life where I have bought the shoes and actually donned them.  Now it is time to set out on the journey.  Time for the unwilling athlete to step up!

This makes me think of a quote I read in a book by Robert Holden of the two caterpillars looking up at a butterfly flying overhead.  The one caterpillar said to the other one "You will never get me up in one of those things!"  Surprise, surprise!  What was at that moment a scary thought to that little segmented fellow was to soon become a reality.  Not that he really had a choice!!  Yet stepping out from our comfort zone can be equally daunting, and although we usually think that we have a choice whether we want to or not, we do not actually have a choice, not if we desire to grow, or improve or evolve. 

 It is very easy to sit back and let life pass by, to be a spectator, but within every person is that little voice calling out "there has to be more!"  That is the reason new places are being discovered, new galaxies explored and new cures are developed.  That is exactly why man has been to the moon and back.

My little caterpillar friend might be very skeptical about taking flight, but it is only through the process of metamorphoses that he will become all he is destined to become.  How wonderful to be a caterpillar.  One day you are a wiggly, hairy little critter and then some days later you can spread your beautiful, colourful gossamer wings and take to the skies. Riding the scents of dusk, drinking exotic nectar and dancing among the daffodils.  What a life.

A quote comes to mind, unfortunately I am not sure who the author is, but it says that in order to fly you have to really let go of being a caterpillar!  Yes, that is it.  Step away from your comfort zone, or in my case, the life of a couch potato!  Let go of your safety net, and all those excuses, and pursue that hidden dream, that long forgotten goal.  Write your bucket list and start ticking off those things you have finally done.

Well, then, that said, I guess it is time for me to set off on my first run (if toddling down the street can be called running) !

If you flutter by here, feel free to share your goals and your dreams with us, or maybe a word of two of encouragement, haha!

Autumn's Colours

It is Monday, but not just any Monday.  No, it is an Autumn Monday.  To me Autumn is the season when the earth angels run around in a crazy frenzy with the last of the paint left over from summer and they paint everything in bright hues of yellow, red, copper and gold.  They slap it happily on anything that passes close enough to their paint brushes and their laughter is carried on the breeze tinged with specks of winter's breath. 

 I love Autumn.  It wraps itself up in the dawn and the early morning air that touches my cheek tingles right down to my toes.  The heat of  autumn days are mellow on my skin and every breath I take is filled with its rich scent, and I taste its gold on my lips.  It is a season that seems to shout "Carpe Diem" - seize the day!  It grabs the last warmth of summer in both hands and drink up every last drop of sun till it is giddy with the fullness of life itself.  It has no fear of the dread of Winter and it worries not about the onslaught of the cold days coming.  Each leave that flutters down does its own dance of celebration in honour of the life it had.  All the creatures join in the celebration of these last balmy days and scurry around to gather food in preparation for the months ahead, yet they do it not with fear, but with the knowledge that those days too will pass.

Autumn is a time to take stock.  A time to look back, and to see how far you have come and what still needs to be done.  It is a season to celebrate what you have achieved, to treasure the moments of abundance and rejoice in all the storms and rains weathered, to give thanks for each blessing of grace.

To me the autumn sun is comfortable and familiar like an old friend.  It makes every day feel like I have come home. It reminds me of the sound of my mother’s kettle, and I can almost taste her sweet honey tea in the scent of the carnations just starting to bloom on my patio.  It brings back memories of her on her knees preparing the soil for the seeds that will ensure her garden is filled with blooms all winter long.  I want to pluck handfuls of autumn and hide in every little corner of my life so I can treasure it even during the coldest days of winter.

What is your favourite season?  If you flutterby my blog, please share with us which season it is that you love and why.  I would love to hear from you, Just click on the words "no comments" or "1 ccomment" and follow the prompts.

Tribute to Mr. Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela

Rejoice people of Thembu,
lift your hands and shout, Mvezo,
for a child of pride and joy
has been born
in your humble village.

Lift your head, oh Africa,
hold your breath and wait,
deliverance is on your doorstep,
justice is awaiting its day.

A young cub has risen,
a mighty lion has roared
and his touch has transformed
the hearts of all races,
bringing democracy
to our dark continent.

Son of Africa,
prisoner and president,
father of a mighty nation,
we honour you.

You filled our eyes
with a new vision,
you brought hope
to your children,
reconcilliation and peace
were upon your lips.

Today we mourn,
we bow our heads and pray:
Nkosi sikelel' iAfica,
Hamba Kahle, Madiba.

© Charmaine Fourie, All rights reserved.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_Mandela
His patrilineal great-grandfather, Ngubengcuka, was ruler of the Thembu people in the Transkeian Territories of South Africa's modern Eastern Cape province.
Mandela was born on 18 July 1918 in the village of Mvezo in Umtatu, then a part of South Africa's Cape Province.
Nkosi sikelel' iAfica - God bless Africa
Hamba Kahle, Madiba - go well, Madiba

Monday Kindness

It's Monday again.  It is strange how the innocent word "Monday" conjure up miserable feelings by so many people.  Just the mere mention of the word causes people to drag their feet, others are instantly in a foul mood, and many people even feel sick at the thought of getting up and going to the office!

However, I have an idea for you!  How about if we treat this first day of the week like a tender young butterfly?  A day full of wonder and miracles that are waiting to happen.  The first day of a brand new week, a canvas waiting for our master strokes.  A new day, when anything wonderful is possible, going into it with fresh expectations!!  Just think about it.  Treat this day with kindness, go into it with joyful anticipation!  After all, I am sure you have all experienced this unwritten law of life : if you expect to find something, good or bad, you are likely to find just that!  It just depends with what eye, what attitude you are searching.

Make this Monday, an unforgettable day, a day to remember, a beautiful day, a day worthy of the 24 hours you give in exchange for it.

Maybe today is the day you can reach out to Tom Thunderface and put a smile on his face, or cheer up Sally Sorry-for-herself even inspire Paula Pessimist!!  Make Monday into Kindnessday.

Showing kindness to others is often the best way to also show kindness to oneself.  You cannot shower kindness on other people without some of it also falling on yourself!  Remember, we never know when a little bit of kindness will be all that is needed to change someone's life forever.

All we need to share a little kindness is for a human being to cross our path, and kindness costs nothing.  What price can you put on a smile, an encouraging word, a compliment, a little bit of patience, a listening ear?

Whatever you do today, do it with kindness.  Take a few minutes out of your busy day and share a little bit of kindness along the way, it might mean more to someone than you will ever realize. 

If you flutter by here, please share with us what kindness it is that you have show or experienced.  I would love to hear from you.

Blessings to all,

Charri

God's Perfect Time

A while back somebody told me this story:

A little boy was walking along and in the veld he found a cocoon, he picked it up and noticed that on the inside there was a butterfly struggling to come out. He immediately took out his pocket knife and cut the cocoon open. Very proud of himself he helped the butterfly out and placed it on the nearest flower. However, instead of spreading its wings to fly off, it fluttered weakly for a few moments and then fell over and died. Dismayed the little boy ran home and told his father about the incident. The father explained to the little boy that the butterfly needed to struggle its own way out of the cocoon in order to grow its wings strong enough to survive. When the time was right it would have emerged from the cocoon, delicate yet strong. This story made me think of us as humans. So often, when we find ourselves in a difficult situation, we wait for somebody to come along and help us out. Some knight in shining armour to fight our battle for us, some Samaritan to help carry the burden and often we will just give up the fight, but it is in the struggle, in overcoming, that our stength lies. The butterfly is exquisitely and perfectly created by God, and the inborn struggle it has to go through is also part of God's perfect plan, it serves a devine purpose. When the time is right, God's plan will reveal itself to us, and looking back we can see how it all worked together to complete the picture. Without that time spend in the cocoon, the struggle towards freedom, the caterpillar would forever stay just that, a caterpillar. In Jer. 29: 11 the Lord promises that He has plans for us, plans that we may prosper, not plans to harm us, but when the time is right, His perfect time......
If you flutter by here I hope you will be kind enough to leave a comment, I would appreciate it.
Blessings to you all,
Charri

Come on, do it!!

My dad was very special.  He taught me so many wonderful and wise things.  One of these was about how to treat others. 
He would take me along to the post office.  Quite a drab place filled with drab and sombre looking people waiting in long drab queues helped by weary tellers with solemn faces behind dusty glass panes.  He was on a mission.  We were agents with an agenda.  His mission was not only to collect a parcel or buy stamps or send off a letter, no, it was to see if he could turn somebody's frown into a smile, even if it was for five minutes.  While waiting we would take guesses as to which one of the tellers would be the one to help us, then he would describe the type of day she/he might be having that might have put the glum look upon the person's face.  He would tell me to watch closely at the transformation that woulfd take place.  He told me that a real smile would always start in the eyes first.
It always filled me with wonder to see how he would work his magic and invariably, by the time my dad finished his transactions, the teller would be laughing, a drab day transformed.  My dad believed in doing unto others as you would have them do unto you.  If you would like somebody to give you a smile, give them one first.  It has become a principle my sister and I have lived our lives by and we have passed this on to our children as well.  It not only works its magic in other peoples' lives but in out own too.  I am all the richer for it.  I get the same thrill today as I did as a little girl, to see how a smile creeps out from a serious face and spreads all over the person's face, and then to see, when I walk away, how that smile gets passed onto the next cusomer in line.  It is like gazing at a butterfly.  One cannot look at a butterfly without being touched by its beauty, without a feeling of delight spreading through ones essence.
This week I encourage you to go out and do unto others how you wish they would do to you, whatever that might be.  Maybe it is to forgive a long time friend, maybe it is to invite somebody for a cup of coffee, or paying their parking meter?  Whatever it is, just imagine that you are doing it for yourself and do it.  At the very least you would leave some astounded people behind!!
Remember this: no smile, no kind word or tender touch is ever wasted.  It always returns back to you with interest. 
If you flutter by here, please share with us what it is you have done to somebody that you would have them do unto you.  I would love to hear your story!!!

Raining Butterflies

It is a glorious spring day with just a bite of winter still nipping at my heels just to remind me to be grateful for the new season with its warming weather. The birds are twittering and flying everywhere, basking in the sunlight. Its as if I am stepping out of a state of hibernation into a place of wonder. I want to get my hands dirty with soil, and plant bright flowers everywhere (not that I would know what I am doing!!). I feel like dancing in the rain ( of which we have not seen any yet!) so the next best thing would be the shower!!
I remember how much I loved playing in the rain as a child, and it is actually so sad that as adults we are so worried about our hairdo, catching a cold or what the neighbours would say that the rain passes us by! It is one of the little joys of life that are totally free and there for everyone to enjoy! So many things in life we pass up for these silly reasons, like singing at the top of our lungs or dancing with total abandon, so scared somebody would play adjudicator and send us packing off the stage.
When last did you dance in the rain, or sing to the beat of your favourite artist? When last did you play air guitar or just spontaneously hugged somebody? When last did you do something totally silly, not caring what the world might say? So what if they laugh? At least you did something to momentarily remove that sour look from their faces!
I invite, encourage, no- I dare you!! Go out today, sing, dance, laugh to your hearts content, make somebody smile, today!!! Be as surprizing as the sight of butterflies raining down would be!

Please share with us what you did today, or this week to make somebody smile!! I am looking forward to your comment.

To Eat or Not to Eat.......?

We all know that moment. That instant when a thought comes into our mind, a desire. That apple looks so delicious, so ready for the picking. But dare we......? Should we......? That moment when we are faced with a....

CHOICE!!!

Life is made up out of a never ending series of choices. We all remember those "Write-Your-Own-Adventure" books, where you read to the end of the page and then have to make a choice. That choice then sends us to another page where a new choice awaits. However, life is unfortunately not a book where you get a "Do-Over" card.
Eric Klinger did a study at the University of Minnesota where he determined that the average person is faced daily with between 300 and 17 000 decisions!! Unbelievable. Most of these decisions we are not even aware of. However, there is no avoiding them.
It was exactly such a decision Eve was faced with that day in Eden. Yes, I know, we all think to ourselves that if it were me, I would have acted differently. I would have been so much wiser. I wonder? To her it was not so black and white. It was not a mere choice of eating that fruit or declining. It entailed far more than that. It looked so enticing, full of promise and endless possibilities. Knowledge beckoned, enlightenment was offered. The thought of becoming like God was overwhelming. After all, what would be so bad about eating the fruit of that beautiful tree. It looked so innocent. Standing there, she felt entitled to eat the fruit.
The decision was made; she reached out, plucked the fruit and ate, thus setting in motion an unstoppable chain of events that determined her destiny, and the destiny of mankind.....
Nothing has changed. We too, often stand in front of the proverbial tree with its enticing fruit, and have to make a decision. A choice that will affect our destiny. What will we choose?
It is at that moment that we have to take a step back and carefully weigh the options. We have to stay calm, and very importantly, not make any hasty decisions. We have to weigh the pros and cons, collect all the data, compute what the cost, the consequences would be. We have to seek advice and pray that God might show us the way.
Then we have to wait. Patience. We have to analyze our feelings and face our worries and fears.
Many people make choices without stopping and taking all these things into consideration. They rush in where angels fear to tread. However, other people again rethink a choice for so long that they end up missing the opportunity. They analyze it to death and end up not making a decision at all! However in that lies the catch - NOT making a decision IS making one!
Taking action, making a choice is often a fine balance between impulse and academic research. We have to consider all the facts and consequences, but we also have to learn to listen to our gut feelings, our instincts.
Could Eve have done this, I wonder? Did she act on impulse, or did she carefully consider her options? Would the outcome have been different? I think Eve was lost before she even took that fruit. She was fooled. She did not know her enemy or his intentions, but she also did not know her Creator well. If she did, she would have known that God knows what is best for us, He has no agendas to harm us, His love for us is pure. The enemy on the other hand, is crafty. His intentions are always for us to disappoint the Lord; he will always try to sway us towards his way of thinking. He comes to us with half truths, in the guise of sincerity. His tongue is smooth, ready to entice us with pretty promises.
We, as Christians, are very fortunate, because we have a gauge by which to judge our choices. We have a plumb line. That plumb line is the Word of God. Grey situations take on greater clarity once we measure it against the Word of God; it becomes more black/white. In fact, it is often when we make decisions without consulting the Word that we end up taking the wrong course of action.
Are you faced with a choice today? Are you feeling indecisive? Overwhelmed? Then I would like to encourage you to PUSH - Pray Until Something Happens.